One camper said furnished tents saved her marriage. A grandmother brought her six grandchildren to sleep in two tents under the stars. But for motorcyclists Donovan and Bonnie Wilson of Brantford, Ontario., camping in well-appointed white canvas became a necessity.

All were provided accommodations by ConTENTment camping, a New York company that has partnered with New York State parks to provide luxury tent accommodations, according to the Buffalo (N.Y.) News.

“When you’re on a motorcycle, you just don’t have the room to bring gear,” said Bonnie Wilson, 51. “That’s what’s so good about Contentment Camping. It has everything for you: bed, linens. You have a table and chairs. You’ve got the tent. That’s all the stuff you don’t have to pack on your motorcycle. That gives you more room, so when you come back to Canada, you can bring more clothing.”

The camping industry has called it glamping, this two-year-old trend toward luxury camping that can transform campgrounds into camp resorts with theme weekends, flat-screen TVs — and furnished tents. Today’s campers can still roast marshmallows, but after singing around the fire pit they also can curl up in a comfortable bed.

Even better for vacationers, camping — tent, recreational vehicle or cabin— remains a bargain when compared with staying in a hotel or a resort with walls. For people without an RV, or for those new to camping who may not yet want to invest in gear, the furnished tents also offer an affordable alternative.

“Who says camping is roughing it?,” said Pat Jenson, president of ConTENTment Camping, who has pitched her furnished white safari tents in three local state parks. “I thought I would strictly get families, but it’s been so mixed, with young couples and seniors. The tents are kind of like little hotel rooms.”

The struggling economy appears to not have diminished the demand for campsites. Outdoor Foundation, a nonprofit group that promotes outdoor activities, estimated there were 33.7 million campers age 6 and older in 2008, an increase of 7.4% over the previous year. RV camping, meanwhile, attracted 16.6 million people in 2008, up from 16.2 million in 2007.

“Camping appears to be recession-proof,” said David L. Berg, chairman of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC) and owner of Red Apple Campground in Kennebunkport, Maine. “People may not return to a $300-a-night waterfront hotel room, but they will go back to look for a campsite nearby.”

“The camper of today wants it all, and if you have it they will come,” said Berg. “People expect Wi-Fi, but they still come to a campground for the experience. You can’t roast marshmallows in a motel room.”

Despite the fiscal crunch, New York state parks still may be the best bargain for vacationers who seek comfort while communing with nature.

“I’d rather pay $60 and sleep in a tent than a motel room, which leaves a lot to be desired,” said Donovan Wilson, 55. “Other people take these big holidays and they go to Australia or England. We hop on the bike, travel around and learn more about our local area.”

The Wilsons have motorcycled to the three New York state parks that offer Jenson’s furnished tents: Evangola in Irving, Four-Mile Creek in Youngstown and Golden Hill in Barker. Parks on the U.S. side of the border, they maintain, are more accessible.

“A lot of our [Canadian] parks have more sheltered, woodsy grounds,” said Bonnie. “They are more isolating. Here, everything is open and green. The water views are amazing.”

The standard Contentment campsite features one 10-foot-by-14-foot canvas tent that contains two single beds (with pillows, sheets and blankets), a bedside table and a sitting area with a 30-inch round bamboo table and matching chairs. A large cooler, two ground pads for sleeping-bag campers, a picnic table and fire pit/grill complete the accommodations. The furnished tents are available from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Reservations ($60 per night/one tent; $90/two tents; plus $9 reservation fee) are made through the New York state park system. The signature white tents repel water and heat. And as far as the Wilsons are concerned, the only elements missing are a cast-iron frying pan, lawn chairs — and maybe a John Grisham novel.

Hot showers, restrooms and laundry facilities are on-site, according to Angela Bertie, Western District marketing and public affairs coordinator for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

“Contentment Camping provides a service to patrons who might not otherwise camp,” said Bertie. “Get that first experience where everything is provided, and then build up your camping gear over time.”

“Campers usually stay close to home, traveling just one to three hours to their destinations,” said Jenson, whose tents also will be at the upcoming Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tenn. “My campers are coming from farther away, including Holland and Germany.”

Many of today’s privately owned campgrounds could make Martha Stewart squeal in delight with their food delivery, concierge service and chocolate-theme weekends.

“We’re certainly not Disney,” said Scott Crompton, owner of Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park of Western New York in North Java, “but we’re shooting for that as an ideal. Our ‘Death by Chocolate and Ice Cream Lovers’ weekend in July is our most popular.” Crompton moved his family from Michigan when he purchased Jellystone six years ago. Since then he has funneled millions of dollars into improvements, including a 16,000- square-foot water park, new cabins and premium RV sites that include parking pads and stamped concrete patios. Crompton’s focus is on family entertainment.

“We wouldn’t do wine tasting, but we will do a 200-foot-long chocolate slip-and-slide during our ‘Death by Chocolate’ weekend,” he explained. “ ‘Kids Get Even — Slimefest’ weekend offers slime kickball and slime tug of war.

“We have a pet park, pedal-cart track and a track for the kids to ride their bicycles,” Compton said. “We want to be the best at one thing, and that’s young families, who don’t feel nickel-and-dimed after they have arrived.”

Deluxe cabins (ranging from $100 to $209 per night) feature fireplaces, screened-in porches, full kitchens and televisions with DVD players. Complimentary Wi-Fi is available throughout the 100-acre park, where young guests can exchange e-mails with Yogi Bear.

Editor’s Note: Here is some background on David Berg, newly elected chairman of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds (ARVC). Information courtesy of ARVC.

Together with his wife Jane, now starting their 13th season, David Berg owns and operates the Red Apple Campground, a 140-site park in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Their park is highly rated, and is one of only four parks in Maine to achieve a “W W W W W” rating from Woodall’s for park appearance, and is the only park in Maine to receive a perfect “10” from Trailer Life for park appearance, and only one of two parks in Maine with a 10* rating for their bath house facilities thus ranking in the top 300 parks overall of the 12,000 parks nationally that Trailer Life rates. TL rating: 8.5 -10* – 10.

The Bergs received the 2003 Campground Owners of the Year Award, as well as the 2007 Richard Hartford – Kenneth Griffin Award for Outstanding Contributor to the Camping Industry from the Maine Campground Owners Association (MECOA).

Berg is a past president of MECOA and continues to serve on its board of directors. He currently is president of the Northeast Campground Association (NCA), and now in his second term on the ARVC board, previously serving on the executive committee as second vice chairman and secretary.

Berg has been a management labor relations consultant for the past 18 years, representing various public sector employers in all facets of labor relations, with 10 years as an officer with a public sector union as an employee representative prior to starting his own consulting business.

He also has served on the Maine Tourism Association board of directors, as well as on various local elected community boards and committees. He currently serves on the local zoning board of appeals. He also worked in law enforcement as a part-time police officer for over 20 years. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Blue Knights Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club, Maine Chapter II.

The Bergs spend their winters in a Naples, Fla. park, in an RV, of course!